Who's Running America? The Bush Restoration / Edition 7

Arguing that the power in America is concentrated in large institutions, this book studies the people at the top of these institutions—who they are, how much power they wield, and how they came to power. Tom Dye has chronicled the national leadership since the Nixon-Ford years, each edition featuring the current president and his staff. The seventh/b>

Overview

Arguing that the power in America is concentrated in large institutions, this book studies the people at the top of these institutions—who they are, how much power they wield, and how they came to power. Tom Dye has chronicled the national leadership since the Nixon-Ford years, each edition featuring the current president and his staff. The seventh edition focuses on the new Bush administration and the contrast it will bring to Washington following 8 years of Clinton dominance. The commentary is supported by years of data analysis involving more than 7000 institutional elites, which includes governmental and corporate leaders. This edition describes the return of the Bush dynasty to power. It includes a new chapter on “The Money Elite” , describing the power of the banking and financial community as well as the Federal Reserve Board; Chapter 7 now covers important issues concerning elite interlocking, recruitment, social characteristics, class, and factionalism; the discussion of “How Institutional Leaders Make Public Policy” has been expanded greatly in Chapter 8; several discussions have been added, including “The Globalization of Economic Power,” “The Battle for IBM,” “Alan Greenspan: Ruling over Money,” “Hillary Clinton: Power and Ambition,” and “Liberal and Conservative Factions among Elites” .

Related Subjects

Table of Contents

The Inevitability of Elites. The Institutional Basis of Power. Power as Decision-making: The Pluralist View. Identifying Positions of Power. Dimensions of America's Elite. Some Questions for Research.

2. The Corporate Directors.

The Concentration of Economic Power. The Globalization of Economic Power. Institutionalizing the Global Economy. Who Controls Corporate America? The Managers: Climbing the Corporate Ladder. The Inheritors: Starting at the Top. Paychecks of the Corporate Chiefs. Corporate Counter-Revolutions. The Battle for IBM. Hostile Takeovers. The Limits of Corporate Power. Summary.

3. The Money Elite.

The Concentration of Financial Resources. The Banking Boardrooms. The Federal Reserve Board. Controlling the Money Supply. Alan Greenspan: Ruling Over Money. The Securities and Exchange Commission. The SuperRich: Distinguishing Money from Power. Summary.

4. The Governing Circles.

The Concentration of Governmental Power. The Fat Cat Contributors. The Politicians: Ambition and Office seeking. Bill Clinton: The Political Climber. The Bush Family Dynasty. Executive Decision Makers: The Serious People. The Bush Restoration. The Congressional Establishment. Ted Kennedy: The Political Inheritor. Hillary Clinton: Power and Ambition. The Judges. The Military Establishment. Summary.

5. The Media Moguls.

Agenda Setting: Deciding What Will Be Decided. The Concentration of Media Power. Ted Turner: Maverick Media Mogul. Katherine Graham: The Most Powerful Woman in America. The Celebrity Newsmakers. Bad News and Good Profits. Liberal Bias in the News. Prime-Time: Socializing the Masses. Summary.

6. The Civic Establishment.

The American “Establishment.” The Superlawyers. The “Fixers”: Peddling Power for Profits. The Foundations. The Policy-Planning Organizations. The Billion Dollar Universities. Summary.

7. The Structure of Institutional Power.

Questions in Elite Research. Convergence or Specialization at the Top? Sources of Elite Cohesion. “Interlockers” and “Specialists.” The Rockefellers: End of a Dynasty. Elite Recruitment: Getting to the Top. Class: A Touchy Subject. African-Americans at the Top. Women at the Top. Elite Factionism: Cowboys and Yankees. The New Tycoons. Summary.

8. How Institutional Elites Make Public Policy.

Policy as Elite Preference. An Oligarchical Model of National Policy Making. The Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. The Business Roundtable and the Committee on Economic Development. The Brookings Institution. Competition among Elites: AEI and Heritage. Liberal and Conservative Factions Among Elites. The “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.” The “Proximate Policymakers.” Summary.

9. Institutional Elites in America.

Institutional Power in America. Hierarchy and Polyarchy among Institutional Elites. Who's Running America? Summary and Findings. Concentration of Institutional Resources. The Size of the Nation's Elite. Interlocking versus Specialization. Inheritors versus Climbers. Separate Channels of Recruitment. Social Class and Elite Recruitment. Conflict and Consensus among Elites. Factionalism among Elites. An Oligarchic Model of National Policymaking. Power: Insider and Outsider Views.